


The Joys of Parenting

by iloveallmyfandomsequally



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Gen, Katara & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Katara and Zuko (Avatar) are Parents, Katara is a hard working mother, Post Episode: s03e12 The Western Air Temple, Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Zuko is a supportive father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25862770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveallmyfandomsequally/pseuds/iloveallmyfandomsequally
Summary: Katara has always been considered the mom of the group. She's always cooking their food, washing their clothes, comforting them about their problems, and having to keep them in line. But ever since Zuko joined the group, her role as the parent has been challenged. After all, what's a mother without a father?
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 188
Collections: Our Adventures in Bending





	1. Laundry

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Hey, guys, so in honor of chapter three coming out I've officially decided to put this story on Archive! This story's been up on Fanfiction since July, so I thought why not post it on here as well! I hope you like it!

" . . . _So let me tell you something right now; you make one step backward, one slip up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently_."

* * *

It had been two days since Katara's threat on Zuko's life. They hadn't seen much of each other in those two days since Zuko had been a little intimidated and Katara had been doing everything in her power to avoid him. The only time they seemed to cross paths was during supper time and when Zuko was training Aang. Of course, Katara took the liberty of watching the sessions _just in case_ Zuko decided to try anything slick. She was sure there was some ulterior motive in that head of his and she was determined to figure it out. She was going to be ready for the day he double-crossed them again, and she'd definitely slap a big, fat "I told you so" to the others.

She was strolling around the main area of the temple, only to see Sokka cleaning his sword and Toph absentmindedly flicking a pebble into the air. She took notice of their clothing and realized that they were the ones she had been meaning to wash the other day. Her face scrunched up in disgust. They were practically sitting in their own filth. It's not like they had a lot of outfits to choose from anyway, but Katara preferred to wash things before she wore them again. Of course that rule didn't apply to Sokka and Toph. She was going to have a stern talking with them about the basics of human hygiene.

"Sokka, Toph, why are you wearing that shirt? You wore it two days ago and I haven't done the laundry yet. That's gross," Katara chided when she was finally within earshot of them.

"Oh, don't worry Katara, it's clean," Sokka reassured, briefly glancing up from his sword.

"Really? You started doing your own laundry? My, my, I must say I'm proud of this extremely mature behavior. I thought warriors were too good for that sort of thing," Katara teased, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow.

"Ha ha, very funny," Sokka retorted annoyedly. "But unfortunately it wasn't. Zuko did the laundry."

" _Zuko_ did the laundry?" Katara repeated, her mood immediately souring.

"Yup. I saw him this morning while I was doing my morning fishing routine," Sokka said.

"And he didn't try to burn our clothes or rub poison ivy all over them?" Katara said, suspicious.

"Nope, just washed 'em. Like a regular person," Sokka said with a shrug. "He surprisingly did a good job too. He even got that stain out of my pants that you've been working on for months." For emphasis, he lifted his tunic to show the inside of his pants where the stain had been and it was in fact gone. Katara couldn't deny that she wasn't just a little impressed, but that didn't change the fact that Zuko had done it.

"I sensed him doing it when Aang and I were gonna do our earthbending lesson," Toph vouced, the pebble falling and smacking her on the nose and making her wince. "He seemed very concentrated. Plus, I think he was washing the clothes with some type of scrub, 'cause he kept grunting. Probably tryna' get the stains out." Toph rubbed her nose annoyedly.

"Yeah, and he used his soap, too! So now I don't reek of that girly stuff you use," Sokka said happily.

Toph got a big whiff of the scent on her clothes. "Ahh, I love the sweet smell of pinewood in the morning," she sighed. "And it made the clothes so soft. The soap you always use makes my back itch."

Katara felt like a blood vessel was going to pop from the anger building up inside her. How could Zuko possibly be better at washing clothes than her? He certainly hasn't been doing it longer than her considering he probably had some poor servants wash his robes. But something about it made Katara question the motives of him. What stunt was he trying to pull? She grumbled and stomped off back where their rooms were, leaving a confused Toph and Sokka to themselves. "What's her problem?" Sokka asked.

"I dunno, but she should really bring her blood pressure down. I don't think it's healthy," Toph said.

Katara trudged over to Zuko's room, only to find him sitting criss cross away from the door. He was looking out the window and had a sheet of paper and writing utensil in his hand, seemingly drawing something. He then sensed someone was there and turned his neck, only to see an irritated-looking Katara looming over him. He put his paper and utensil down and stood up to face her. "Why'd you do it?" she asked.

"Do what?" Zuko asked.

"The laundry! Why did you do the laundry! You know that's _my_ job!" Katara exclaimed.

"I just figured you were kinda tired from doing it all the time," Zuko said. "I've seen you washing their clothes, and you looked like you could use a break."

"So you've been stalking me?" Katara accused, crossing her arms.

"Well, considering we're in the same general area it's kinda hard not to see you," Zuko responded dryly, seemingly annoyed.

"Don't get smart with me!" she snapped. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, and you may have won the others over by your 'charitable' deed by using your apparently 'great' soap that smells like pinewood to wash their clothes, but it's _not_ going to work on me."

"That's not my soap, it's my uncle's. I kept it even after he was put in prison. I figured I'd use it when mine ran out, but it just came in handy when washing the clothes," Zuko said.

"Well, _whoever's_ it was, I don't need you to help me. I've been taking care of them on my own just fine, and I don't need your pity."

Zuko didn't say anything. Instead he just stared at her with a neutral expression. He then turned over to his bed and picked up the folded blue clothes that had been sitting there the whole time. "Here. I was gonna put these in your room, but since you're here you can take them," he said, handing them to her. She swiped them away and started to walk out of his room. She then smelled a faint whiff of moon peaches and vanilla. That wasn't familiar. . . . Zuko must have used his soap to wash her clothes. She didn't want to admit that it smelled better than her soap she used, so she settled for letting out a faint huff. "Thanks . . .," she mumbled into her clothes.

"What?" Zuko said.

"I said thanks!" Katara snapped before stomping off to her room, leaving a puzzled Zuko behind. He just stood there and scratched his head. _And I thought Mai was complicated_ , he thought. He then resumed sketching the pretty flower he saw outside his window.


	2. Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara finds Zuko cooking for the gang.

Katara lifted a fire lily and brought it up to her nose. She inhaled the sweet scent of the flower and sighed contently. She and Aang had decided to take a mini field-trip and walk around. They had come across this vast meadow of fire lilies, and when Aang found that there were mice toads living there he and Momo went off and chased them. Katara had laughed when Aang decided to mimic how they moved by jumping on all fours. He was quite silly when it came to having fun. It was definitely what she needed after her mood had been dampered ever since Zuko joined.

"Hey, wait up guys!" Aang said, laughing and hopping around with the mouse toads. Momo followed after him, trying to catch one of the creatures. Katara chuckled at Aang's antics and went back to the fire lilies. They were beautiful when they weren't dead. Katara immediately thought back to Hama and her use of waterbending. Katara furrowed her eyebrows as the memories left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Aang asked when he saw Katara's expression.

"When Hama was teaching me about waterbending, she said that you could use the water within living things to power your bending. Like these flowers, you can suck the water out of them and take the advantage." She proceeded to demonstrate and motioned her fingers to pull the water out from the flower, it becoming dark and wilted. "But it leaves it so lifeless and frail. How can you just take the life out of something freely without thinking of the damage you're causing?"

"I guess that's the problem with most people. They don't think about what they're doing to the things around them," Aang said, then perked up. "But that's what makes you so special, Katara. You care about the people and earth so you don't take advantage of anyone."

"Even so, I still feel . . . wrong," Katara admitted sadly. "Just the fact I know an art as evil as bloodbending seems like I'm as bad as Hama."

"You're not like her, Katara," Aang comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just because you know bloodbending doesn't mean you're gonna use it the way she did."

Katara gave him a smile, to which he returned it. Aang then picked one of the fire lilies and tucked it gently behind Katara's ear. He thought she looked incredibly beautiful with how the golden rays of sunlight hit her warm skin. How her eyes shimmered, looking like a calm ocean during a sunset. Katara then glanced at the sun that was on the horizon, giving the sky a pink hue as it was leaving to make way for the moon. It looked absolutely gorgeous. She wished this moment could last forever. Her eyes instantly widened as she recalled the thing that had been bugging her in the back of her mind.

"Shoot! I forgot about dinner!" Katara mentally kicked herself for losing track of the time.

"That's okay, Katara, I'm sure the others'll understand," Aang reassured with a smile.

"Oh man, they're all gonna be so annoyed with me!" Katara exclaimed. "We have to get back, now!"

She began racing down the hill, leaving a perplexed Aang. Momo then jumped up on his shoulder with a curious glance. Aang let out a good-natured sigh. "C'mon buddy," he said to Momo as they started to catch up with Katara.

* * *

When Aang and Katara had gotten back to the air temple both of them had picked up a scent that was particularly strong, but luckily it was a pleasant one. "Mm," Aang hummed. "What smells so good?"

"I dunno," Katara said. They continued walking with the smell only getting stronger. They came to the air temple common room where Sokka, Toph, Haru, and Zuko were standing around a pot over a roaring fire. "Hey guys," Aang greeted. "What's cookin'?"

"Zuko's making dinner. He used some of the rice and spices we have and decided to whip something up," Sokka explained. Katara's face visibly hardened.

"How do we know you didn't poison it?" Katara challenged when Zuko came back over and sprinkled a little salt into the pot.

"Oh, cut him some slack, Katara," Sokka chided. "If he really wanted to kill us he would've done so by now."

"That's probably what he wants you to think," Katara growled.

"I didn't poison it," Zuko said flatly.

"Really? Well-"

"He's telling the truth, Katara," Toph interrupted her. "Besides, we're all hungry so we might as well give his cooking a try."

Katara grumbled something under her breath and stomped off to her room. Toph smirked, feeling her blood pressure rising. That was the second time this week. _Sweetness really needs to work on her anger issues_ , she thought. It was a little bit before all of them sat down to eat, Zuko offering to be the one serving. Everyone minus Katara thanked him and immediately started digging in. "Wow, Zuko, this is really good! You're a great cook," Sokka praised, dipping his fingers to get even more delicious rice in his mouth.

"Yeah, it has a little kick to it, but not too much that it overpowers the flavor," Teo added.

"That's because I added sichuan peppercorn and a little doubanjiang. Also there was a star anise tree nearby so I figured I'd use it too," Zuko explained, taking a bite of his own. He hummed in thought. "Needs more black pepper." Zuko proceeded to shake a bunch of black pepper onto his rice, making Aang chuckle.

"You're like my friend Kuzon. He had such a high heat tolerance, that even if you set the food on fire he'd still say it wasn't spicy enough."

Everyone chuckled except for Katara. She was busy eyeing her bowl of rice suspiciously. Even though she trusted Toph's judgement on saying Zuko wasn't lying, it didn't make her any less cautious about trying his cooking. There was a slight nudge to her left as she glanced over at Aang who gave her a reassuring smile. Her gaze softened only a little as she turned back to the rice and eventually scooped a handful and shoved it in her mouth. She had to admit it was actually good, but she'd never give Zuko the satisfaction. She ate in silence the rest of dinnertime while the others conversed among themselves.

After dinner the others went their separate ways, and Katara decided to have another "chat" with Zuko. She walked over to where he was picking up the dirty dishes everyone had left behind. She stood over him with hands on her hips and he eventually glanced up at her, expressionless as usual. "You know, you didn't need to do that. I could've handled it just fine," Katara accused.

"Well, the others started complaining about being hungry and you weren't back yet," Zuko said while he stacked the bowls.

"So? You could've waited," Katara snapped. "I don't need people picking up my slack."

"I know you're not happy that I'm doing your job, but maybe you needed some time to relax," Zuko said. Katara glared daggers at him and crossed her arms. Zuko let out a sigh. "How about a compromise?" he suggested. Katara cocked an unenthusiastic eyebrow. "I can cook dinner three times a week, and you can cook dinner two times a week."

"How is that a compromise? You're getting the bigger half of the work," Katara retorted.

"You've been making their food longer than I have. The least I could do is take some of the work off your shoulders," Zuko said.

"I told you before, I don't need your help," Katara growled.

"Sure you don't," Zuko said, before taking the pot and walking off, leaving Katara even more steamed. How could he be even more infuriating than when he had been trying to capture them? First the laundry, and now cooking; it had to be some sort of front. Katara knew he couldn't just do these things out of the goodness of his heart. She pictured a small, shriveled-up, barely clinging to life organ in the middle of Zuko's chest. That's what she thought it might look like if she considered he even _had_ a heart in the first place.

Katara decided to turn in early that night, not wanting to spend any more time with Zuko than she already had to. Settling into bed, she thought about what would happen if Zuko really did turn out to be faking and captured all of them. Her eyebrows furrowed as she pushed the unrealistic thought to the back of her mind. There's no way that would happen; he'd have to be a fool if he thought he could capture them all at once. Then again, Zuko did seem to have foolish tendencies under that conniving personality of his. She decided those were ideas for another day as she slowly slipped into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next day Katara woke up to the smell of something cooking. She didn't know what it was but she sighed when more of the pleasant aroma filled her nostrils. She was too tired to wonder how it got there considering she was the one who always cooked breakfast, and decided to find out what it was. She got up out of bed, briefly tasting morning breath, and tried to fix her hair as best she could. Following the smell, she came to the air temple common room as the rest of the gang were already up and sitting in their usual circle. "Morning, Katara," Aang chirped when he caught sight of her. Katara let out a sleepy mumble as she sat down beside him, her eyelids not even fully open yet. Just then, a makeshift plate was put out in front of her with steaming hot eggs.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Eagle hawk eggs. I found a nest nearby and figured I could whip something up," Zuko said. Katara then noticed Zuko's arms were wrapped in bandages up to his elbows. "What happened to your hands?" she inquired.

"The mother came back before I had a chance to escape," he said.

Katara let out a snort of a laugh and picked a couple eggs from the makeshift plate and started to dig in. The eggs were a little slimy for her, but overall didn't taste half bad with Zuko's proper seasoning. The gang ate in peace, only making mild conversation here and there, mostly from Sokka and Aang. Zuko and Katara stayed relatively quiet throughout the meal, only giving their input when asked. The two of them seemed lost in thought, perhaps about different things. But it didn't stop them from sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. Eventually everyone was finished and handed their plates to Zuko. Toph grabbed Aang by the ear to tug him off for his daily earthbending lesson, while Sokka decided to study the maps he had, and the other three went about their business. That left Katara and Zuko alone in the common room.

Katara took notice as Zuko immediately began cleaning up and grabbing a bucket of water to wash the dishes with. She wasn't used to any of her teammates being that punctual about chores, so it surprised her when Zuko took it upon himself to clean up, not asking for any help from the others. She walked over and stood next to him, getting his attention away from the dishes. "What?" Zuko said.

"Let me help. It's the least I could do to thank you for making breakfast," she offered.

"Sure," he obliged.

Katara took one of the plates and started washing along with Zuko. For the first time since he arrived they were actually getting along. The silence between them wasn't filled with burning tension, and to both of them it felt nice. Not that either of them would admit it for their own stubborn reasons, but Zuko did notice Katara's faint little smile while Katara noticed his visibly relaxed face. Perhaps they had just gotten off on the wrong foot, an _extreme_ wrong foot to say the least. Katara then had a split second thought that maybe she had misjudged Zuko, maybe he had actually changed. She'd just have to do some more investigating.


	3. Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang makes a mess and Zuko and Katara have to pick up the slack.

"You get back here, Twinkle Toes or I swear I'll bust your head into a wall! You're lucky you're an airbender or else I'd be dancing on your grave while you rot six feet under!-"

Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and the other three watched curiously as Aang raced down the temple walls on his air scooter with Toph on his tail, hurtling enormous boulders at him. Apparently something had gone wrong during their earthbending lesson because they'd heard a scream and a crash and the next thing they knew, Aang was zipping past them, followed by an angry Toph. The gang observed the two as they continually zoomed around the common room. Aang practically had to zig-zag on his air scooter to avoid any of Toph's boulders and Zuko had to blink a few times due to his eyes being strained. After a few minutes of pointless staring, Sokka grumbled and decided to walk in the middle of their one-sided sparring match. Once Aang and Toph were in grabbing range, Sokka picked both of them up by the backs of their shirt collars. "Hey! Can't see!" Toph snapped, flailing her arms and legs.

"Alright you two, what's goin' on?" Sokka inquired, extending his arms out when Toph wouldn't stop pawing at Aang.

"She's tryna' kill me!" Aang exclaimed dramatically.

"He insulted my Earth Rumble Six name!" Toph spat.

"I just said it didn't make sense!" Aang protested.

"What do you mean it doesn't make sense?" Toph retorted. "I'm _The Blind Bandit!_ It's the coolest, most awesomest name out of every single one a' those rock-for-brains!"

"I mean the blind part's self-explanatory, but 'bandit'? Bandits, like, _steal_ stuff. What are you stealing in an earthbending tournament?"

"I'll steal your spine outta your body, _you little_ -"

" _Okay!_ " Katara interjected before Toph could say anything further. "Why don't we just all calm down and relax, yeah? Toph, your Earth Rumble Six nickname is very creative and is the coolest out of all of those . . . ' _rock-for-brains_ '." Toph smirked and let out a proud huff as Sokka put her and Aang down. "And Aang, you need to be more careful about what you say to people. Now let's address the complete and utter disaster that is the temple right now." Everyone looked around to see piles of rocks scattered around from Toph's episode. Some of the ceiling even fell through.

"Oh. . . . Yeah, sorry about that," Toph said sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck.

"Guess I just got a little . . . carried away."

"Ya think!" Aang exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "You nearly tore my head off!"

"And I would've gone through with it if Snoozles hadn't saved your sorry butt!" Toph threatened, pointing in the general direction of Aang.

"Well, somebody's gonna have to clean this mess up," Sokka announced, shifting his eyes around his teammates. "Katara, clean this mess up."

Katara immediately shot him a glare. " _What?_ Why do _I_ have to do it!" she exclaimed incredulously. "I wasn't even the one who caused the mess in the first place!"

"Because, chores are, like, your _thing_ or whatever-"

"So you're just _assuming_ I _like_ doing chores because you're too lazy to pick up the slack all the time?" Katara seethed, balling her fists up. "You know it wouldn't kill you to help once in a while! I'm probably gonna have back pains before I'm thirty from carrying the whole weight of the team!"

"Hey, I have an important job!" Sokka protests.

"Oh really? What?"

"I have to make all the plans! I have to read maps, I have to scope the land, I have to train-"

" _All you do is throw your boomerang around and doodle on our maps!_ " Katara screams.

"I don't see _you_ doing anything to help defeat the Fire Lord!"

" _Urgh!_ You can be _so infuriating!_ -"

" _I'm infuriating?_ Why don't you look in a mirror once in a while! Then you'll see who's really-"

The two siblings began an incoherent screaming match, to which the rest of the group stood there awkwardly watching them. Zuko could empathize at least; he knew how little sisters got when they didn't get their way. But Azula almost always did, and when she didn't, she was far from fighting fair. "Should we stop them?" Aang asked, looking to the others. Toph only shrugged, humming unsurely.

"Nah, eventually they'll wear each other out," Zuko said, crossing his arms. "It's only a matter of time."

The other's took his word for it, understanding that he'd had first-hand experience dealing with a younger sister. They decided to leave Sokka and Katara at each other's throats and go about their own business.

* * *

Katara woke up from the nap she took after her and Sokka's argument. All that screaming had taken a toll on her so she'd decided to take an anger nap. Sitting up, Katara groaned and held her head. The others probably hadn't even bothered to clean up the rubble that Toph and Aang had left so she'd have to deal with that. Once she felt decent, Katara walked out of her room and to the common room, only to find Zuko sweeping and absentmindedly humming to himself. She furrowed her eyebrows; the common room looked almost completely free of a mess. _Did Zuko clean this up . . . all by himself?_ she wondered, taking a good look at him. If she didn't think he was one of the worst people on the face of the earth, she could admit he looked kind of cute. The way his hair messily fell in his face, and the way his lips were barely quirked in a smile. Suddenly there was laughing growing louder and the two of them looked up to see Toph, Aang, and Sokka charging towards the common room.

"Can't catch me, Twinkle Toes!" Toph taunted playfully, chucking a rock at Aang, to which he swiftly avoided it.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that, Toph!" Aang challenged, throwing another rock. She dodged it perfectly, only for it to crumble on the ground.

"Missed me!" Toph mocked, pulling her finger to droop one of her eyelids and sticking her tongue out. She shot a pebble at Aang and it hit him square in the head. He flew back and rubbed the offending bruise.

"No fair!" he whined, immediately springing to his feet and running after Toph, who was back on the chase again.

"Hey, guys, wait for me!" Sokka cried, running through the common room and sloshing mud around with his boots.

"Hey! I just cleaned that!" Zuko yelled after them. Sokka, Aang, and Toph didn't pay any mind to him as they continued to chase each other around the temple, eventually going into the outer areas. Zuko let out a frustrated grumble and immediately started swiping up the muddy tracks. He was gonna have to have a chat with them about walking in the common room before wiping their feet. He then took notice of Katara, who was doing her best to contain a quiet laugh with her hand. He furrowed his eyebrows and went back to sweeping.

Katara quirked an amused eyebrow and gave him a smirk, to which he huffed through his nose and jerked his head away from her. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly before taking an extra broom and walking towards him. "Need some help?" she offered and started to sweep with him. He smiled appreciatively and they continued to clean in the familiar comfortable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been thinking about the future of this story and whether I should make it romantic Zutara endgame or not. If you're also on Fanfiction.net, please go to my profile and vote on my polls! But if you're just on here you can leave it in the comments below.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
